‘Othello villain’ NYT Crossword (July 23) answers and hints

Are you familiar with “The Bard”? If not, you may find today’s NYT clue, “‘Othello’ villain,” tough to solve.

Fortunately, this isn’t a trick question. The answer is the name of the main antagonist in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello. If this was on your high school syllabus, it’s time to dig the answer out of your memory bank. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare, it should be easy. If you haven’t the foggiest, we’re here to help.

‘Othello villain’ NYT Mini Crossword solution and hints

Before I give you the solution, I’ll give you a few hints so you can try and solve the clue for yourself.

Hint 1: Says: “I know my price, I am worth no worse a place.”

Hint 2: His name often has “honest” in front of it.

Hint 3: Also the name of the parrot in Disney’s Aladdin.

Hint 4: Begins with an “I.”

Beware the ides of March! Or, you know, just “warning.” I’m about to reveal the answer below, so don’t read on if you still want to work it out for yourself.

The answer to the NYT Mini clue “‘Othello’ villain” is “IAGO.” In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Iago is a soldier who hates Othello and devises a plan to ruin him. Not the nicest guy. You may also recognize the name “Iago,” as it’s the name of Jafar’s parrot in Aladdin. He, too, is an ass.

Full answers for the July 23 NYT Mini Crossword

Across

• 1A Food that fills both blanks of “___ce of ___” — PIE
• 4A Wide display — ARRAY
• 6A Quintessentially boring color — BEIGE
• 7A Founder of Amazon — BEZOS
• 8A Type of beer — ALE

Down

• 1D Game show contestant’s hope — PRIZE
• 2D “Othello” villain — IAGO
• 3D They’re never open 24/7 — EYES
• 4D “Mamma Mia!” group — ABBA
• 5D Film spool — REEL

‘Othello villain’ clue difficulty rating

How difficult you find this clue depends on how familiar you are with Shakespeare’s work. Most people know some degree about Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream, but maybe know less about Othello.

If you’ve studied or read Othello, you likely got this quickly. But, if, like me, you spent high school reading As You Like It or King Lear, then you may have drawn a blank here.

I’m giving this clue a two out of five for difficulty because while the solution may be tricky, the answer is straightforward for those who know it. No funny business here. Just a question and an answer. If you don’t know it, tough.

How to play more crosswords after solving the NYT Mini

Once you complete the NYT Mini, you should try out the NYTs other word games, including Strands and Spelling Bee. After that, you can head to the LA Times and Washington Post to complete their daily crosswords. If you want even more after that, try The Atlantic’s daily crossword, which gets increasingly more challenging as the week goes on.